


Things I'm Learning To Say (Remix)

by UisceOneLove



Series: STB Bingo Fills 2021 [2]
Category: Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bisexual Steve Rogers, Bisexual Tony Stark, Divorced Tony Stark, Good Boyfriend Steve Rogers, Good Boyfriend Tony Stark, Happy Ending, Hopeful Ending, Light Lover's Betrayal, Light Non-Traditional A/B/O Dynamics, Loki Secretly Has a Heart, Love Languages, Lover's Sacrifice, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Self-Sacrifice, step-parent Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29796960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UisceOneLove/pseuds/UisceOneLove
Summary: Steve never expected to find someone after a life of lanky limbs and a backpack of illnesses. Then he did, and he wanted to keep it close.He supposed that the universe always planned on pulling the rug out from under him.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: STB Bingo Fills 2021 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2190087
Comments: 2
Kudos: 41





	Things I'm Learning To Say (Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ralsbecket](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ralsbecket/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Things I'm Learning To Say](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28187049) by [UisceOneLove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UisceOneLove/pseuds/UisceOneLove). 



> So, I'm supposed to make an expansion of this world, but I started some bingos, and I figured I could take the opportunity to use this fill to make a remix first! Why not flip things around, yeah?
> 
> Bingo Square: "Free Space"
> 
> Enjoy the pain!

**_The Past_ **

"Mister Stark, I really don't feel comfortable with the cameras." 

Steve can get behind some shots before he goes into the experiment, but he didn't enjoy the personal questions. 

"Told you, Steve, call me Howard," the brunet waved off. But the man did set the camera aside. "Look, we owe you a big thank you for doin' this."

It was Steve's turn to wave it off. He didn't do it for acclaim or the gratitude of others.

"It's the right thing to do," the Alpha said again, "if Erskine's confident that I can make the serum work and help the cause, then I will."

Howard appraised him with an odd sort of smile. It wasn't often that people were impressed by Steve. "You'll do all right, Steve."

Steve didn't have much to go to get away from the look; this was a small room they gave him for quarters until tomorrow. He was stuck with the bed that he was sitting on, very little of his belongings, and the chair that Howard Stark was taking up near the door. His fingers were itching to do one last sketch before he calls it a night but he'd rather do that when he's alone. 

"Look," Howard started as he leaned forward, "sorry about the Omega question. My mouth runs before I think sometimes, it was too personal."

"I'm sorry that I don't have a lot of interesting facts to share for you," Steve returned, appreciating the gesture. 

"Well, this'll be the most interesting thing you can share with any dame or fella that catches your eye," Howard encouraged.

Steve held in his thoughts when Howard stood up and slid the chair back under the wooden desk. "You need some shuteye before we start, and I'm going to be up all night making sure every algorithm is correct before you step into my machine," the inventor informed him. 

"As long as it's nothin like your flying car, I'll be fine," Steve told him wryly.

Howard snorted and nodded with a deprecating smile. "One day I'll get that right, too. Night, Rogers."

He waited until Howard was gone before he finally relaxed. The bed wasn't very comfortable, but it was hard to find one that was, thanks to his spine. Steve scooted up the bed until he was able to rest against the headboard and pulled his sketchbook into his lap. 

While the questioning had been uncomfortable, Steve also expected something like that to happen. It was asked of soldiers plenty in the newsreels or whatever movie that came out about some kind of underdog going into a fight. 

Bucky was the only person Steve had. But Bucky was a Beta, and their  _ Till the end of the line _ promise was that of brothers. 

It was easy to daydream about having a family. But that's all it was in Steve's foreseeable future. 

If he survives this experiment tomorrow, then Steve's life will be dedicated to the war effort. There won't be time to meet someone.

Steve sighed down at his current sketch, a bland outline of someone waiting to be filled in with the details. 

He didn't see that happening either.

\------

**_The Present_ **

"I don't get why I have to stay here!" Peter exclaimed as the team boarded the jet.

"It is no mission for Spiderlings!" Thor declared in passing, swinging his hammer up and down.

"Thor, what did I say about the hammer and the jet?" Tony called out as he came down the loading ramp.

Steve watched from Peter's side as the Asgardian started to sulk.

"No swinging when in the big flying machinery," Thor recited sullenly, setting Mjolnir on the ground by his seat.

"Thank you, that's a good god." Tony stopped in front of Steve and Peter, giving the kid's shoulder a pat. "You can't come because Aunt May said so."

Peter sputtered, his eyes wide. "You're benching me because  _ Aunt May _ told you to?"

"Yes," Tony nodded, "because she is a formidable woman and I don't want to cross her."

"That's completely unfair!"

Steve squeezed Peter's arm sympathetically. "Queens, there will be other missions. Stay here this time and make sure Morgan doesn't find a way into Tony's lab." 

"Babysitting duty," Peter grumbled to himself as he stalked inside.

Tony sighed wistfully. "They grow up so fast, don't they?"

Steve grinned and bumped Tony's shoulder with his own. "We should get going before he tries to sneak on-board."

"You're right, we should." Tony grabbed Steve's wrist to stop him from getting far. "However, there is something missing first."

"What would that be?"

"This."

Steve still couldn't believe sometimes that Tony Stark was dating him. It was superstition now to kiss before a mission. Tony insisted it was, anyway, and Steve couldn't help but be inclined to let the man believe whatever he wanted. 

It was out of reluctance that Steve even pulled away, taking the man's hand to get him on the jet.

"One before and one after," the blond reminded.

"Then we should definitely hurry up and finish the mission so that I can get the second kiss," Tony decided.

That was an arrangement that Steve was always fine with getting behind. It served as some extra motivation for them to get in and get out safely.

\----

Steve's been on missions before that blew up in his face. A couple of those had been with the Howling Commandoes. One of those had been when he lost Bucky in the mountains. But he had always done his best with the Avengers to keep those occurrences rare.

HYDRA could still throw him through a loop, it seemed. 

Maybe they just knew by now what the Avengers would look for. Taking their information and destroying their facilities was cathartic for Steve. It gave him a leg up on his enemy. 

Someone in HYDRA started being smart.

He doesn't know who tripped the sensor but it doesn't matter. The base is starting to come down around them and they don't have much time before the timer runs out and the building explodes. 

Steve and Tony are still with the mainframe, watching the big monitor mock them with each second it gets shorter. 

Tony's trying to do everything he can to stop it, cruising at the keypad as his armored fingers stab at it with panicked efficiency. 

And that's how Steve knows what he has to do because Tony already said the sensor will cut the timer short as soon as all occupants try to leave.

It's the play he's made before. It's the play he'll make again.

"You need to go, Iron Man."

"We'll go, just give me a second."

"Tony."

" _ Give me a second _ ," Tony growls. "I can make it stall, just long enough for me to fly us out of here."

Steve watched his boyfriend calmly. He admired Tony's intelligence and loved how determined he could be when it came to doing the right thing. That's part of what drew them together. 

Tony's heart was big underneath the armor that encased it. Steve was one of the lucky ones who got to see it up close. 

Tony didn't like it when his things were taken away from him.

So, Steve hoped that Tony wouldn't hate him for taking one more.

"If you do that, there won't be enough time for the rest of the team to reach safety in time," Captain America points out to his teammate. He takes a step closer to Iron Man and covers his hand to still it, watching the man stare down at the keyboard, rapidly blinking as he tried to control his emotions.

"What are you suggesting," Tony responded, voice flat because it wasn't a question. He knew what was coming. 

Steve slid his shield from his arm and set it against the console. "You have enough time to fly out of here and get to the others."

"Steve."

"It's going to be all right, Tony."

Tony spun on his heels, fire burning in his dark eyes as he spat through clenched teeth, " _ Don't do this, Steve. _ "

Steve smile balefully. "I'm sorry," he replied, cupping Tony's face, "but I have to do this, Tony. It's the only way."

He had to protect Tony like he couldn't protect Bucky. Tony would survive just like he's managed every time life has tested him. That's all this was, another test.

It was Steve's duty, as Captain America and as Tony Stark's boyfriend, to make sure he passes.

"Stark, Rogers," Natasha's voice sang through their comms, "the team's evacuated and ready to take off on the jet. What's your ETA?" 

Tony stared at Steve with determination. "Listen to me, Rogers. We've done the lone hero thing before. Both of us. Rhodey's got JARVIS keeping track. Then the other one ends up right in the end and we have ourselves make-up party after. I'm telling you we can make it together, so let's go. Quit it and let's go home." 

Steve just shook his head, the red lights playing an ominous dance on Tony's suit. "That's not how it's going to work this time, you saw the codes. Don't prolong this. Get to safety with the others--"

"So I'm just supposed to leave you here to blow up like a Fourth of July firework?" Tony hissed. 

"Yes." Steve wasn't going to risk everyone else or Tony. That's his job. To step up for his team and take the brunt of the threat. "Don't be reckless. Morgan's waiting for you."

Tony growled, his eyes narrowing. "She's waiting for you, too!"

"You're her real father!" Steve responded, exasperated. They didn't have time for this! "Are you going to make it a tradition for a Stark to lose their father, Tony? Do you want that for her?"

" _ Real father _ ?" Tony scoffed, incredulous. "You've been as much of a father to her as I have. Do you realize how much Pepper even adores you for it when she's not supposed to adore what I have dibs on?"

" _ Tony-- _ "

" _ Don't! _ "

This wasn't working. Tony was digging his heels in, like he always does, and Steve didn't have time to waste. So it was time to switch tactics. 

Tony can hate him for it later but as long as the Omega gets out alive, he really wasn't going to care past it being worth it.

Steve dropped his hands away as he let his shoulders drop, even taking a step back to make it convincing. "You're right. We can figure something out. We always do." 

Tony nodded sharply. "Damn right, Rogers. You should know better; I'm always right." He went back to scanning the code again, even more determined. "I'm the guy with high IQ and advanced tech, leave this to the professional."

The soldier waited, letting Tony's guard go down as he got lost in the system. "Hey, Tony?"

"I've almost got it, Cap, just give me a second," Tony said over his shoulder, his eyes locked on the screen.

"I love you," Steve said, stepping back up to the love of his life. 

"I love you, too, now shush. I've almost got this."

Steve gave himself one last look at Tony. It wasn't the way he pictured the end for them but it would have to do. "And I love Morgan. Tell her that. Okay?" 

Tony's hands froze as he whipped his head over to look at Steve, and the blond could see things slotting into place.

"Don't you fucking dare--" Tony started, but Steve cut him off with a final kiss, pouring all of his love into it. 

Then Steve pressed the button on his wristlet. Tony shouldn't have made him the failsafe. 

"Goodbye, Tony," he bid, voice finally cracking. 

He watched as the faceplate slammed shut and the suit propelled itself out of the room. Without an audience, Steve finally let his mask break away. Tears streamed down his face as he turned back to the main server and watched the single digits count their way down. 

Tony would be safe. The family he made in this century would make it and continue the mission.

_ I was wrong, Howard,  _ he thought as the timer hit zero,  _ there was an Omega out there for me after all. _

Steve didn't close his eyes as the base exploded. The last thing he got to see was Heaven crashing to Earth around him.

\----

There were many attempts by people through the years to describe what Heaven would look like. 

He didn't know what he'd particularly believed it would be but it wasn't this.

Steve was standing in the living room of the apartment Tony owned in Manhatten. After Morgan was born, he didn't really stick around the Tower for a living situation. 

Tony had bought it because Steve hadn't liked the idea of living in Malibu, or anywhere that far away from New York, and there was no place in Brooklyn that he could afford on his own. He knew this was Tony's compromise for him. 

It was one of the things that made Steve believe they had a long-lasted future ahead of them. 

"Hello?" Steve called out. 

When there was no response, he started to explore. 

The space was decorated exactly as he and Tony had left it that morning. Various framed sketches of his were still on the wall, and pictures were decorating the shelves and tables. Some of the potted plants that Rhodey and Pepper had given them as a house-warming were still in their rightful place.

Steve stopped at a collage that Thor and Morgan made; various cut-outs of the Avengers, photos that'd been taken of him and Tony over the years, and in the center was a photo cut in the shape of a heart from when they'd taken Morgan and Peter to Disneyland and got talked into riding the spinning teacups. Morgan and Peter couldn't stop smiling while he and Tony did their best to hold back their breakfast.

Tony had given him a home, a good life, and a family. It was a life well-lived in Steve's second chance.

Distant giggling sounded as he was putting the collage back. For some reason, he wasn't alarmed or on-edge. He recognized that giggle. 

He followed it down the hall to Morgan's room where he found the door cracked open. Steve gave it a gentle push, his heart seizing in his chest when saw Morgan coloring on her bed.

There was another him right next to, knelt down on the floor and shading in a coloring book with a warm smile. 

"One last picture and you need to sleep," the Other Steve told her, "we don't need daddy catching you up past your bedtime." 

Steve remembered this night. He stepped further into the room, content with being an observer. He wouldn't mind taking a good memory with him to the next place. 

"Our secret?" Morgan asked.

"Just ours," Other Steve promised. 

He stayed against the wall, feeling unhurried, as he watched himself and Morgan color together. It was their thing to do whenever it was he tucked her in. Tony saw it as another way to get her to not sneak into his workspace. 

Morgan had a habit, like in this memory, of falling asleep mid-color. It was the sweetest thing Steve could think of, and he couldn't blame his Other Self when he sat there for a few minutes stroking her hair. It was when she came close to drooling on the page that the Other Steve adjusted her and pulled the covers up to her chin. 

Putting Morgan to bed often would make Steve think about being a child and having his own ma put him to bed. He would brush back her hair as his ma did, and left a kiss on Morgan's brow. 

Steve knew what was coming next without looking away from the scene in front of him. 

"I guess I missed Bedtime," Tony said from the doorway, watching with the same fondness that Steve remembered, "but if this is what I get to see because of it, I've got no regrets." 

Other Steve stood up, lips turning up more. "You'll make it up to her."

"And you." Tony waited for Other Steve to pick up the coloring supplies before he moved into the hallway to let the blond out. 

Steve, again, couldn't resist taking everything about Tony in. He was immaculate in the steel-grey suit, a ruby-red tie standing out against it. There were bags under Tony's eyes but not from spending a night inventing, just from him being up early for a Stark Industries meeting that the man always found boring. 

"I don't need you to make it up to me," Other Steve assured as the couple walked with each other to the bedroom. He took the bed while Tony went to the walk-in closet to change. Steve stayed by the door still, a feeling of wistfulness overtaking him. 

"I'll still do it," Tony said, poking his head out with a grin. "I can make it up to you right now, even."

Other Steve rolled his eyes. "Stand down, soldier."

Tony continued to leer. "What if I don't, sir?" 

"You're incorrigible, Tony."

"That's my middle name," Tony said with a wink before he disappeared back into the closet.

Other Steve shook his head and leaned back on his hands, shirt getting tugged up by the movement enough to expose a stretch of his stomach. "If you want to make it up to me then you can stop giving my things unnecessary upgrades."

"It's not a crime to want to give you the most efficient tech."

"You gave me an automatic paintbrush. That's not how they work, Tony."

"Not  _ yet _ , but imagine the things you could do with it!"

"Like what?"

Tony came out in a pair of Steve's sweats, which made the waist cling loosely to his hips, and one of his worn-out band tees. 

"I can think of a few things," he shrugged, saddling himself in Other Steve's lap.

"Oh, I know what you think of," Other Steve replied dryly. "You know you don't have to do those things for me, right? I love your inventions but I get on just fine."

Tony pressed their lips together, a small smile stuck between them. "I like doing it, Winghead. And nothing you do will convince me to stop."

Steve brushed away the wetness from his eyes. 

"Such a domestic little scene, isn't it?"

No one was there when Steve looked around, the hallway empty of any intruders. But he could feel a new presence around him, and there was something about the voice that tugged at Steve's mind. 

"A quaint place you and Stark own together."

Steve's hands clenched into fists, his posture straightening as he followed the voice to the living room. 

There, looking the same as Steve remembered from his Attack of New York, was Loki. 

"How the hell did you get here?"

Loki threw him an unimpressed look as he strolled around the room. "I am a god, Captain Rogers. Dimensional traveling is no hard feat for my kind, much like you Midgardians are capable of breathing." 

" _ What _ are you doing here," Steve rephrased. He thought that Thor had said his brother was dead. What would an Asgardian be doing in Heaven or wherever this was? 

Loki maintained a respectful distance from Steve, providing his full attention once he was done with his appraisal. He clasped his hands behind his back, then gave the blond a smile that just barely succeeded in not looking like it belonged on a shark. 

"I came to make you an offer," he answered. 

"Why would I accept anything from you?"

"Please do not make this tiresome, Captain," Loki sighed, "I come with an open heart."

Steve didn't buy it. "Since when do you have a heart for my kind?"

"Since my insufferable oaf of a brother found himself to be shield brothers with you."

"I thought you didn't like Thor."

"My relationship with Thor is not of importance in this matter," the god dismissed. "When I called you the Man Out of Time all those years ago, I had not meant it to be more than a tease of your situation, not a moniker for you to bring into fruition."

This certainly couldn't be Heaven. What decision sent Steve to Hell? 

"Make your offer, Loki," Steve commanded. 

"You are walking in a world between life and death, Captain," Loki finally responded. "And I tire of seeing the many universes where you and Stark leave one another time and time again. Very redundant, mind you. As much as I would love to see your death hinder the Avengers and my brother, you have an important role to play in the future of your universe."

"I still don't hear an offer," Steve replied, reeling. Multiverses were things Tony had mentioned before but it went over his head. How was he supposed to react to any of that? 

Loki's smile twitched but he kept it in place. "I am here to offer you a hand in returning to your Iron Man."

Steve stared the god down, waiting for the ambush or catch. "And why would you do that?"

"As I said; you have an important role to play." Loki took slow, measured steps until he was in front of Steve. "Now. Do you accept or not?"

"What do you get out of it, Loki?"

"I get the pleasure of knowing you live because I deigned to assist you."

"What else?"

Loki's smile took on the sharpness Steve was waiting for. "And you will owe me a favor." 

The last thing Steve needed was to owe any favors to a trickster. 

Loki seemed to sense his reluctance, because the smile dropped completely and became some more serious. "What would you rather do, Steve Rogers? Go into the light and wind up wherever your religion claims to have waiting for you? Or to return to the family you have claimed for yourself and expand on the domestic happy memories like this one?"

Steve looked down the hall before he could stop himself. If he wasn't dead yet, then Tony would be right beside him, in the hospital or medical, wherever they took his body. Tony looked so broken in that instant of realizing Steve wasn't going to leave with him. 

And while he'd compartmentalized in order to get Tony out of the base, Steve took those last moments to grieve leaving everyone behind. 

He couldn't leave Tony, or Morgan, or Bucky or Clint or anyone else he loved. 

This century had given Steve chances to start making decisions for his own happiness. 

Now there was someone before him, offering the chance to stay.

"What's it going to be?" Loki asked again, offering Steve his hand.

There wasn't a real choice, was there?

\----

The lights made his eyes ache to open them. Blinking cleared his vision slowly, his head feeling heavy and his body numbed by a high dose of painkillers.

Steve felt a pressure around his hand and managed to get his head to move on its stiff neck to find the source; Tony's hand was holding it. 

Tony, who was the best thing he could get to see first. 

His boyfriend looked haggard slouched in the chair. Steve gave his hand as much of a squeeze as he could muster in his state, and felt something in his chest lift when Tony's eyes fluttered open to show him a pair of tired brown eyes. 

Steve pulled his dried lips into a smile. "Hey, Shellhead." 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
